Architecture - Why Choose Preservation?

Reuse, reinvest, and retrofit... or demolish?
1.  It's Good for the Community
Preservation of older structures adds to a sense of identity, educating the community about its history and helping it citizens to amplify their collective historical heritage and culture. In the case of architecture, context often matters.  Keeping buildings on their original sites can contribute to an understanding of how and why the community and its character developed.
2.  It's Good for the Economy
We can look to the reuse of the High Line Rail in NYC as a model for what preservation, the use of embodied energy, and reuse of the abandoned elevated train artery can do for a local economy.  The West Chelsea neighborhood restaurants, shops, galleries, and other businesses in this largely forgotten area of NYC have profited immensely from recent increased usage, traffic, and tourism to the area after High Line was reopened as a walkway and native plant preserve.  Substantially different buildings in bulk, form, scale and arrangement are emerging, while still preserving key visual features through restoration and reuse of abandoned existing buildings in the neighborhood. This contributes to employment density and a new pool of patrons for the businesses.
"Dollar for dollar, rehabilitation creates more jobs than new construction. One study in the US, for example, found that $1 million invested in the rehabilitation of an existing building creates 9-13 more jobs than the same $1 million invested in new construction. Why? Because rehabilitation is more labor-intensive than new construction - that is, it requires more man-hours and fewer materials. An economy that is more labor-intensive and less materials-intensive is a greener economy," says Richard Moe of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
3. It Makes Good Economic Sense
In many cases, remodeling or rehabilitation of an existing structure can be far less expensive than demolishing and building a completely new structure.
4. It's Good for the Environment
Most professionals in the construction industry are aware of and agree with the current trends in the use of green materials and practices in new construction. But, the green movement has largely disregarded the inherent advantages of building reuse, including the primary one-embodied energy.  At the core of sustainability practices should be the question: does the structure that currently exists on the property where I plan to build still have value and will it continue to sustain its value? It doesn't matter how much energy you save if you're carting the structure off to a landfill in 1-2 generations.  Rehabilitating old and inefficient buildings can save energy through embodied energy and reduce energy consumption.  And with a few sustainability practices, also improve the health and well being of its occupants. New construction - even when done in an environmentally friendly way - still requires the use of irreplaceable natural resources. And the consumption of those resources has real, measurable impacts. For example, a recent study by the UK's Empty Homes Agency found that it takes 35-50 years for a new energy-efficient single-family home to recover the carbon expended during its construction.
5. It Preserves Techniques and Heirlooms That Can No Longer Be Duplicated
There are valuable lessons in preservation that can inform current building decisions and that we cannot learn in any other way.  Lasers, computers, and high tech equipment can't replicate early construction techniques, many of which have been lost or are underappreciated.   These early techniques yield a product highly different in character, texture, and appearance than new ones.  Many families learn about the character and culture of their ancestors through the observation of their early built environment.

59th Street Lexington Subway Platforms Show Best Why American Civilization is Ending

Nothing illustrates the economic and moral bankruptcy of the country that calls itself a superpower better than the midtown Manhattan subway complex on Lexington avenue. I recently had the misfortune to find myself there after a light rain. Above the station, the area is filled with rather impressive corporate high rise structures and large window stores. The stores seem to be large corporate middlemen chains that satisfy American desire for goods that their economic/political system is unable to provide. They link foreign manufacturers with shoppers eager to try on things made in Italy, China, and even Malaysia. These large open chains are staffed with local peoples such as minorities living on the outskirts of New York and white college graduates unable to find employment in their field. But that's a story for another day. I am mentioning the flashy above ground consumer bazaars to provide a contrast to what goes on underground. After all, midtown Manhattan is not only one of the supposedly most sophisticated areas of American civilization, but one of the wealthiest to live in.
I descend about 2 floors down and find myself on a platform where local trains stop. The air got noticeably stuffier and less pleasant. I see that the instead of columns going to the ceiling there are just steel beams that are just recoated with paint occasionally. I am distracted however and find that I am on the wrong platform for the uptown headed train. I find an underpass and go through it. The underpass is rather rather narrow and filthy. There's various dirty doors on each side. If somebody was shown a picture of such a passage, they would think they are looking at a hallway of a third world local holding prison. It definitely had an oppressive yellowish atmosphere of a structure where the authorities don't care if its underfunded since the people using it don't matter. Considering it's just a quick underpass I really didn't give it much thought as I emerged on the other side.
Missing an uptown local train leaving the station, as a mob of people squeezed into it with great urgency, I decided to try my luck with the uptown express train. I followed the sign leading to its stairwell. It turned out that the express platform is much deeper underground (compared to the cheap trench construction American standard) and even has an escalator. Escalators are absent on most other stations throughout the city and even this seemingly deep tunnel only had one up escalator. However, there do seem to be elevators at some points for pregnant women, those with baby carriages, and the elderly. As I descended the air got more oppressive and I began to feel this urge to almost go back up due to the increasingly stuffiness and dankness around me. I saw people begin to ride the escalator from below. Great, another train missed. That gave me a great educational opportunity to observe that lay ahead of me in great detail.
As I exit on the uptown express platform, the first thing that strikes my eye is how low the ceilings are. They are already low as a rule of thumb in NYC, but this deepest station takes the cake. As I look on what is just a few feet above me, I see brown rust and grime stretching in all directions covering everything. Huge protruding paint flakes covered with layers of industrial dust are everywhere and are rather uniform. It doesn't appear to be just one patch but every single bit of the ceiling. It then occurred to me that the garbage and dirt above me is not an isolated incident or result of some construct project. It appeared to have been the NORMAL state of the platform. Unlike the thick steel beams every few meters, authorities didn't care enough or didn't have the funds to pay anybody to rip off the flakes and throw some paint on the ceiling. Such state of disrepair perhaps can be expected in underground sewage systems, old Soviet factories, or unused World War 2 bunker hallways and such. It was incredible sight to see at a mass transit hub. My entire attention was transfixed on the dark flaky garbage colored ceiling. The sheer unpleasantness of it was mesmerizing since it was everywhere without contrast to "repaired" patches or something resembling a ceiling of an often used complex.
My gaze slowly drifted down to the metal wall separating the two train tracks. The uneven rust and thick cover of industrial dust did not end. Visualize one of the large machines working at a landfill to scoop or bulldoze the garbage and dirt. The texture and color of both the ceiling and separator walls was same as the bulldozer's unwashed blade. It had similar clumps of unidentifiable matter stuck on to it. If one takes into account the floor and track (to which I'll get to in a moment), over 75% of the surface at a Manhattan midtown subway station was the same as one within a garbage compactor.
Numbly I turn my attention down and see water and garbage.
No I am not in Mumbai, Tbilisi, or Mexico City. This is an important city in United States and home to thousands of millionaires. There were literally pools of water and piles of garbage a couple yards away from me alongside the entire length of the visible train tracks. There was probably more water there than usual because of the rain but I have come across subway stations where water is always present regardless of conditions outside. I thought to myself that at least there's no water dripping onto the platform itself. As I walked further where there was a cluster of waiting people, there was liquid dripping from some source in the ceiling onto the waiting area. The ghastly visual was complete with a large crushed cockroach by the stairwell opening and a rat that scurried amidst the garbage and water bottles by the tracks. Some of the water bottles in question had such a thick layer of industrial dirt on them and seemed to be so embedded into the ground to suggest possibility of weeks or even months of being there.
What brought a nauseating feeling was not the fact of being in a dungeon the interior of which is not even suited for an overcrowded prison in Pakistan or Iran. It was the fact that such a garbage filled filthy dungeon is totally accepted by millions of transit users in one of the richest cities of a supposed superpower. Millions of people spend thousands of hours of their life waiting down there and enjoying the scenery with all of their 5 senses. I had a strong urge to videotape and take photographs of these scenes just in case they get closed down tomorrow because of some public health decree. Of course they wont disappear since they've been getting slightly more filthy every year due to continual fiscal situation within NYC governance. And then an absurd realization came over me that if people were to stand with their gaping mouths while taking many pictures, they could theoretically get stopped by the authorities. I am not sure whether post-911 camera photography ban is still in place but the mere legalistic possibility added to the absurdity.
The people at the platform were not he happiest looking bunch. Their facial expressions were those of downright misery and hopelessness. There was some unfriendly anger scattered on the faces of the business suit wearing whites in their 30s, but most in the waiting cluster had a resigned unhappy look. Importance of portable music is clearly on display here. It is amazing that residents of New York City ( city that the world thinks itself very familiar with from endless movies and overfly shots of the skyscrapers) could come to a point where they accept the squalor of their infrastructure. Their faces tell that they feel it, are subconsciously unnerved by it, but have trained to suppress it and become resigned. Some individuals, finding nothing pleasant to look at, fidgeted and paced while occasionally leaning to look for the train. There were no overhanging electronic screens like in London (which doesn't have the best subway in the world mind you) to notify when the next train is coming or when any trains are coming. It seemed we've spent a long time down there but it was just a few minutes.
It's a wonder that the MTA transit strikes don't happen more often considering the average salary of about 50 grand for those toiling for years in the garbage and rodent filled darkness. Perhaps the threats of fining a million dollar per day against the unions and other Giuliani era tactics work after all.
The train that arrived was the new silver model used on the green line. It was already caked with splotches of brown dirt and it seemed unthinkable that there could be an older model in its place. Of course most NYC trains are indeed the older dimmer lit models used more often to service connections to minority neighborhoods. Those trains don't have the cutting edge technology of telling you what time it is or what the next stop is without the occasional barking from the wired audio. The people on the train weren't much happier and greeted the newcomers with looks of downright hostility. The whole miserable experience was only ended with climbing out into the rainy street outside.

Rent Control in New York City

Throughout this essay, I will expound on the background of Rent Control in New York City; the debate/controversy over it in New York City, including historical and present opposition to as well as historical and present support for it. In addition, I will discuss opposition and support for it in other U.S. cities; my opinion of the opposition as well as support for Rent Control.
What is Rent Control? It is a program administered by the New York City Office of Rent Administration, which is responsible for regulating rents in about 1.2 million privately owned rental units statewide under four laws: the Emergency Housing Rent Control Law, the Local Emergency Tenant Control Act, the Rent Stabilization Law, and the Emergency Tenants Protection Act (ETPA). The preceding four laws are the foundation of the rent regulation systems commonly known as "Rent Control" and rent stabilization (New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal, 2006). However, the focus of this essay will be centered on New York City because of the limited scope of this paper.
Rent Control usually applies to residential buildings constructed before February 1947 in 55 municipalities (including New York City, Albany, Buffalo and various cities, towns, and villages in Albany, Erie, Nassau, Rensselaer, Schenectady and Westchester counties), that have not declared an end to the postwar rental housing emergency (New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal, 2006). The rules are as follows: for an apartment to be rent controlled, the tenant (or his/her parents) must have been living in that apartment continuously since before July 1, 1971. If a rent controlled apartment should become vacant, it will either become rent stabilized, or, if it is in a building with fewer than six units, it is generally removed from regulation. In addition, an apartment in a one- or two-family house without commercial units must have a tenant in continuous occupancy since March 31, 1953 in order for it to be legally rent controlled. Once it is vacated after March 31, 1953, it is no longer subject to regulation. Previously controlled apartments are usually decontrolled on various other grounds (New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal, 2006).
Rent Control restricts the right of an owner to evict tenants and limits the rent an owner may charge for an apartment. It also requires the owner to provide essential services and equipment. For example, the owner must provide and maintain all services furnished or required to be furnished on the base date of May 1, 1950 for rent controlled apartments outside of NYC, and March 1, 1943 for those within NYC. Moreover, modifications required and essential services may have been ordered thereafter, with an appropriate adjustment in rent. The essential services may include, but are not limited to: repairs; maintenance; the furnishing of light; heat; hot and cold water; elevator service; kitchen ; bath and laundry facilities and privileges; janitor service, and removal of refuse (New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal, 2006).
The New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR), outside NYC, determines maximum allowable rates of rent increases under the aforementioned regulation. Periodically, owners may apply for these increases. On the other hand, the said regulation operates under the Maximum Base Rent (MBR) system in NYC. MBR allows a maximum base rent to be established for each apartment which is adjusted every two years to reflect changes in operating costs. Furthermore, owners who certify that they are providing essential services and have removed violations may raise rents by up to 7.5% each year until the MBR limit is reached (New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal, 2006). In turn, tenants may challenge the increase on the grounds that the building has violations or the owner's expenses do not warrant an increase. They may do so by filing Challenge Re: Maximum Base Rent Order (DHCR Form RA-94 MBR). Owners may challenge Maximum Base Rent Orders by filing DHCR Form RA-94 MBR, also (New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal, 2006).
"Rents may be increased in other ways: (1) if the owner increases services or substantially rehabilitates a building or installs a major capital improvement; (2) hardship; (3) increased labor costs; (4) in NYC, increased fuel costs (passalongs)" (New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal, 2006). In turn, DHCR may decrease rents in certain cases: substantial, uncorrected code violations and reductions in services including facilities, space or equipment, or ancillary services (New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal, 2006).
The preceding paragraphs depict the background and the law of rent controlled housing which contribute to the debate/controversy of it. The main argument of the opposition to the regulation is that it prevents developers from building new housing as illustrated in the following quote,
"It is hard to find any economist who supports rent restraints. Price controls, even if laboriously tweaked, inevitably produce inefficiencies, reduce supply and cause bad side-effects. Black markets and bribery thrive. Building maintenance is often ignored. Landlords and tenants find themselves in poisonous relationships, since they are linked by law rather than by voluntarily renewable contracts. Unscrupulous property owners go to dangerous lengths to evict tenants in order to get higher-paying replacements; as a result, tenant-protection laws have been enacted that make it almost impossible to evict even a scoundrel" (Economist.com, 2003, para 10).
In turn, the main argument of the support for the law is that it creates stability as illustrated by the following quote,
"Now, in principle I think rent control is great-- people shouldn't be driven out of their homes because the neighborhood gets richer and they don't. Landlords getting the profits from increased real estate values is a bit of a scam to begin with since they are benefitting [sic] from social progress in a neighborhood, not their own efforts" (Newman, 2003, para 1).
If we describe supporters of price control on the renting of residential housing as good and opponents of it as bad.... Do we call greedy, opportunistic and hypocritical flip floppers ("do as I say but don't do as I do" on Rent Control) - ugly? So is the case of Robert Nozick, author of the 1974 National Book Award winner: "Anarchy, State and Utopia" which solidified the Harvard philosophy professor's reputation as the intellectual hero of libertarians. Dr. Nozick preaches the supremacy of free markets being the key to a successful society and capitalism should be given a free hand to operate without external interference such as the economic interventionism of contemporary liberals (Tucker, 2003). However, like his conservative cousins (T.V. evangelists) - Jim Baker and Jimmy Swaggart: preachers of the ugliness of sin - Dr. Nozick doesn't always practice what he preaches.... Then, again, he is a living testament to the adage: "there's no atheist in a foxhole because everyone prays to God when their life (self-interest) is on the line."
Case in point: Professor Nozick - an eminent anti-price control advocate successfully used price control laws on the renting of residential housing in Cambridge, Massachusetts against his landlord, the renowned classical scholar and author of "Love Story" - Eric Segal. Eric Segal was forced to settle the lawsuit, in order, to get Professor Nozick to move out of his condominium apartment (Tucker, 2003).
The above paragraphs illustrate the make-up of the debate/controversy of rent-control. Let's continue with the opposition to such control in New York City by starting with its historical roots. According to Economist.com (2003,) - an anti-price control advocate, the law on the renting of residential housing was one of many price controls brought in during the grim, panicky period between the attack on Pearl Harbour in 1941 and America's move to a full wartime economy in 1943. Like rubber, petroleum, coffee and shoes, housing was looked upon as a vital commodity that needed to be regulated for 'the good of the citizens' during a time of war. The Economist.com article (2003) mentioned above continued to lament that by 1947 all the price controls were phased out, except property-price regulations. Specifically, the website pointed out that most cities eventually scrapped the preceding market distortions except the capital of capitalism - New York City (Economist.com, 2003).
From its inception to its current form, the rent ordinance is vitriolically resisted by its opponents - mainly landlords and free market economists. For example, Swedish Economist Assar Lindbeck compared the effects of the ordinance on a city to a city destroyed by bombing. Walter Block, holder of the Harold E. Wirth Eminent Scholar Chair in Economics at Loyola University's Joseph A. Butt, S. J. College of Business Administration, offered an anecdote on his website, illustrating that it is worse than bombing (Block, 2002). (Seriously, I wondered if Dr. Block considers it to be more destructive on an urban center than the Nagasaki and Hiroshima's nuclear bombing or Washington, D.C. and New York City's 9/11 attacks)?
The main complaints against ceiling on rents in New York City seem to be centered on the following.... First, it is a government-mandated price control which is a law that places a maximum price (rent ceiling) on what landlords may charge tenants. In turn, rent ceiling causes shortages, diminution in the quality of the product, and queues, as in the case of other price ceilings (Block, 2002).
Second, it diverts new investment, which would otherwise have gone to rental housing, toward other profitable ventures. Thus, the diversion leads to housing deterioration, to fewer repairs and less maintenance. For example, price ceiling has destroyed entire sections of sound housing in New York's South Bronx whereas it has led to decay and abandonment throughout the entire five boroughs of the city (Block, 2002).
Third, it often benefits the wealthy and politically connected long term tenants instead of tenants who need it most - lower middle class and working class tenants. For example, multimillionaire Ed Koch currently resides in a rent-controlled apartment which he maintained while living in City Hall as the Mayor of New York City.
Let's take a look at the support for rent law in New York City by starting with its historical roots. The rent ceiling program in New York City, like most major cities in Western Europe and North America during World War I, was introduced to mitigate disruptive effects of the War and to prevent profiteering. Subsequently, in some cities, the programs were discontinued after the War while they lingered on in other cities. In World War II, rent freezes were imposed throughout the major cities of Western Europe and North America. Again, all North American cities were fully decontrolled by about 1950 with the exception of New York City (Arnott, 1997).
From its inception to its current form, the housing law is steadfastly supported by its supporters - mainly tenants, and liberal and socialist leaning organizations and politicians. For example, Rachel Treichler (an avid supporter) - the Green Party candidate for New York Attorney General in 2006 made it in New York City and affordable housing in general as one of her major planks in her campaign platform (Voterachel.org). Another example is Betsy Gotbaum - Public Advocate for the City of New York who vociferously campaigned against rent deregulation prior to the expiration of New York City said housing laws in 2003 (Pubadvocate.nyc.gov, 2003).
The main praises for laws or ordinances that set price controls on the renting of residential housing in New York City seem to be centered on the following.... First, it allows working class families and retirees to live in good neighborhoods in N.Y.C. For example, a minimum wage earner would have to work 154 hours a week to afford a two-bedroom apartment at market rent. Second, New York City depends on the diverse work force for her economy; without Rent Control, working class families would have to relocate to other affordable cities. Third, it minimizes tough decisions by working class and retired tenants, such as choosing between rent and food or medication (Pubadvocate.nyc.gov, 2003).
In other cities, opponents and supporters of laws or ordinances that set price controls on the renting of residential housing voiced similar arguments. In Hoboken, New Jersey, its advocates are able to successfully maintain the status quo despite their community undergoing a major gentrification. In Santa Monica, California, its advocates were able to introduce rent control to the community while simultaneously electing pro-rent control City council members in 1979. In Baltimore, Maryland, its advocates developed a citywide housing organization after a pro-rent control law was struck down as unconstitutional by state courts. In San Francisco, California, its advocates eventually won a rent control law despite many hurdles engineered by opponents (Policylink.org, 2006). In Cambridge, Massachusetts, its opponent Jerry Calen of Narsil.org (2003) reported that the effort to re-impose rent control in Cambridge was defeated by slightly more than a 3 to 2 margin.
I personally unabashedly support laws or ordinances that set price controls on the renting of residential housing in New York City for all the reasons and arguments by its advocates reported depicted in this essay, despite being a homeowner. My opinion of the positions taken by its opponents is similar to my opinion of the positions taken by opponents of the Minimum Wage. For example, opponents like Dr. Nozick base their opinions in their own self-interest instead of the interest of the common good.
Another personal example of the housing ordinance is illustrated in the case of my former professor and an assistant department chair (Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison) who co-authored a textbook with another of my former professors (Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology). The textbook, like most economics textbooks, is highly critical of rent ceiling because of its relationship to the odiousness of price controls. Nonetheless, the professor maintains a rent-controlled apartment in Manhattan along with his privately owned house in Upstate New York. Is my professor's case similar to Dr. Nozick's case? I think not ...although my answer is very biased. From my personal experience, my professor's ethics are impeccable and he is of an irreproachable character. He is one of my best former professors (along with the other mentioned professor). Continuing my disclosure, I earned an A in one of his honor classes because of his superb teaching skills. He, also, selected me to be on a college academic team that earned third place in a nationwide economics competition. OK, so what is my point? My point is rent ceiling like Minimum Wage has a gray area that is situated between the extremes of 'black' (opponents) and 'white' (supporters) - a gray area best illustrated by the following quote:
"Rent control has been presented to fifty years of economics students as
an object lesson in bad policy. Over that period, however, the nature of rent control has changed from a rent freeze to rent regulation which allows each jurisdiction to choose its policy from an extensive menu of provisions. At the same time, economic theory has become more sophisticated and sensible while the standards for the empirical testing of theory have increased enormously. As a result, expert opinion on the effects of modern rent control policies has become increasingly agnostic" (Arnott, 1997).

Things to Consider in Kitchen Remodeling

The thought of doing some kitchen remodeling in your New York City home or apartment might have crossed your mind a dozen times. But you keep putting off the idea because you do not know where to begin.
As in every project, the key to a successful kitchen remodeling in New York is planning. Create an outline of the steps you need to take. Below are the things you have to consider before turning on the green light on your renovation project and hiring an NYC contractor:
1- Set your budget. Your kitchen remodeling budget must be set before you start your project. In line with that, be sure that you will be able to manage your budget wisely all throughout the renovation process to avoid having to stop the project with an unfinished kitchen.
2- Gather ideas. With all the media sources available nowadays, there are a lot of ways to gather ideas for remodeling your kitchen. Do a lot of research! Check out magazines, watch lifestyle channels with home improvement shows and search the Internet for the latest innovations that you might want to have in your kitchen. Jot down your notes and hold on to them. They will prove themselves useful during the planning.
3- Know your wants and needs. This is the step where you narrow down the ideas you have jotted down to fit in to your taste, your needs and budget.
4- Request an estimate. Contractors in NYC offer quotes or estimates for renovation projects, including, but not limited to, kitchen remodeling. While requesting for an estimate cost, be sure to bring up your budget, your ideas, and the set up of your home or apartment.
5- Hiring a contractor. When choosing a contractor for your NYC home or apartment to do your kitchen remodeling project, be sure to get one that is made of a team of experts in their fields. New York General Contractor, for instance, is a one-stop-shop for all renovation needs. They also give you advise on the constantly changing building codes to inform you whether or not what you wish to construct and/or renovate is according to the city regulations.
6- Design. Be comfortable to discuss everything you want and need for your kitchen with your contractor and designers. Communicate every single detail - from the backsplash, cabinets and countertops to tiles, sinks and faucets. Should you wish to spice up your kitchen with accessories, your designers will certainly put them in place that will perfect the look of your kitchen.
Kitchen remodeling in a big city like New York may be a tedious and daunting task. Having a skilled NYC contractor will definitely ease you off your worries and help you achieve the kitchen you have always wanted. The best thing about renovation projects, particularly kitchen remodeling in NYC, is that it adds a hefty percentage on your property value, which guarantees a good investment from every penny you spent.

How to Have a Delicious Barbecue Experience

Barbecue tastes good all year round, wherever you are, whether you're at a New York barbecue restaurant or a South Carolina one. There is certain protocol to follow, however, when enjoying this most American of foods. Read on to learn how to best appreciate good barbecue.
Firstly, don't worry about how you'll look bibbing yourself. If you're really going to enjoy your meat, you may get messy. Expect it and prepare for it. If you feel self-conscious about wearing a napkin as a bib, make sure you have plenty of napkins, or preferably even a wet napkin nearby. If you're eating ribs, you may have to use your hands, unless the meat is so tender it falls off the bone. Even then you may want to suck the morsels and fat from the bone. This is rude most of the time, but when you're eating barbecue, society makes exceptions.
Next, let's talk about your options. Ribs are traditional barbecue fare, and if you're out at a restaurant, you may consider getting them since they're so hard to make well at home. Fried chicken is another popular restaurant item, as are BBQ pulled pork sandwiches, wings and catfish. Some BBQ restaurants offer jumbo fried shrimp and beef brisket too. The latter is also tricky to do right in your kitchen, so judge accordingly. Burgers can be satisfying, but remember, you can get a burger anywhere - you're at a barbecue restaurant - act like it.
Sides are just as important, if not more so, than the meat itself. Corn on the cob is a good vegetable, but even better, are collard greens, turnip greens or ramps, another form of slightly bitter greens, often cooked with pork for flavor. When it comes to carbs, mashed potatoes, potato salad, candied yams, mac and cheese or French fries are all a good choice; it depends on your personal preference. But baked beans and cornbread are, or at least should be, standard in all barbecue meals.
As far as desert goes, if you possibly have room after such a stuff-fest, think pie a la mode, preferably apple with vanilla ice cream. But sweet potato or pecan pies are delicious, as is a good old peach cobbler.
When you work with the restaurant to eat their best items, you will be most satisfied. This article should have helped, and if you have any more questions, draw on the waiter for some Southern Hospitality and advice on what to order.

The Importance of Taking Your Biz Carbon Negative

Yesterday morning I was listening to Al Gore on CNN being grilled on all the hoopla around climate change:
Is it really man-made? (Today less Americans think so than a few years ago.)
Are environmentalists hypocritical for changing their position on nuclear power?
What about ClimateGate? (The recent stolen e-mails from scientists in regards to climate change.)
And as you probably well know, the reason these questions are so hot right now is this week started the UN's Climate Change summit in Copenhagan, Denmark. Over 90 heads of state will be attending and putting in their special interests, including Obama's next week.
In the interview today Gore did well keeping the conversation focused on the core issue: excessive carbon in the atmosphere has already started cooking us. Little credible scientific evidence disputes this.
How does this relate to small business?
Simple: when we can demonstrate how to make money removing carbon from the atmosphere, there will be a stampede of entrepreneurs heading for 'dem hills!
To do this will take carbon negative companies.
Examples of carbon negative companies here in NYC:
Alive Structures - green roofs and walls as well as ecological and container gardens.
Gotham Green - Urban rooftop farming using hydroponics (just water, no soil.)
re:char - bio fuel and fertilizers using biochar and pyrolysis technologies.
Rooftop farms - Urban rooftop vegetable farms.
These green technology companies are really state-of-the-art.
I have personally met with and/or worked with these guys and some have been successful raising substantial dollars from outside sources to get their businesses to the next level.
Yet the early adopters that jump on board and mold these technologies to today's market are the ones that are most likely to do extremely well.
A sustainable carbon negative company takes:
a) Profitability (or for non-profits, financial stability.)
b) Carbon sequestration-the conversion of carbon into oxygen, via photosynthesis, or its long-term storage in biomass or underground or underwater.
c) A program for taking care of your stakeholders (employees, customers, suppliers, community, etc.)
d) A plan for reducing your business' carbon footprint.
While this can be technical stuff and is just now starting to be done, already some are showing very promising results.
Meanwhile, back in Copenhagen, I, along with many others, have a beef. The agenda is reviewing some fairly complicated and somewhat convoluted suggestions for dealing with companies that are belching out carbon into the atmosphere.
Cap and trade, which includes carbon credits, trading and offsets is the key model being considered right now. But it has some serious flaws and most likely will not be successful.
To learn the basics on Cap & Trade from an excellent brand new video, check out The Story of Cap & Trade by Annie Leonard.
A model I (as well as many others) feel would be much more successful is a simple one: to tax carbon emitters. All of them/us!
So the leaders are in Copenhagen along with their financial experts trying and figure out how to manage the carbon crisis. And I prefer to stay here in NYC helping small businesses build a solution from the ground up.
My two companies, BEST Coaches and The Shift Group are launching a pilot program The Green Business Mastery Program for early next year. We will be working with green companies, helping increase their revenue by $100,000 and get fully funded while going carbon negative.
We intend to produce Unreasonable results much faster than what is expected to come out of Copenhagen.
Action Steps for the Week
Review your business model. Calculate your carbon footprint (the amount of carbon you are producing)? Even if you have a service based company. And then how to reduce your carbon.
Next, look to see how you can actually convert carbon into oxygen. As mentioned above, you can best do this using photosynthesis (live, green, leafy plants and trees). How can you build this up in your home, office and community?
Perhaps you can make it a mission for your business to do this on the side? If so, how can you then leverage it to gain attention to your commitment to carbon reduction on the planet?
Perhaps you can partner with a company to help you do this program. Who can you contact for this...
...today?

Hi, my name is Stefan Doering. Since 1987, I've been pioneering new approaches to environmental business and sustainability. After having started one of the first green retail businesses in the country and growing it to one of the largest, I now have coached hundreds of green businesses as well as teach green entrepreneurism for various NYC programs and at Columbia University's Center for Environmental Research and Education. I focus on three major areas:
1) Innovating powerful green business models,
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New York City Tours - 7 Ways to Visit Famous NYC Film Locations

New York City and the movies - they go together like romantic and comedy, like Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, like been there and done that. There are so many attractions in New York City - the beautiful, the busy, the rare, the grandiose. Here is a list of 7 ways to design your New York City tour around the films we all know and love.
1. There are several ready-made entertainment-based tours in New York City. One of the newest is the Sex and the City tour. This is a tour for the girlfriends. We're talking cupcakes, shopping, and girls-night-out. The tour is designed by On Location Tours and takes you and your friends to the places made famous by Carrie, Samantha, Charolotte, and Miranda. The tour now includes locations from the movie as well.
2. On Location Tours also designs our next two choices. Central Park is so crowded with film locations, you'll think you've been there before. A Central Park Movie Walking Tour breaks it down for you and guides you through the famous Trump-Wollman rink featured in several films, the Boathouse Cafe and the Bethesda Fountain from films like When Harry Met Sally and One Fine Day, and Tavern on the Green not just featured in films but frequented by real life celebrities. The tour lasts about 2 hours, and remember - it's a walking tour, so change out of those Sex and the City heels before you begin.
3. If you wax more nostalgic over the Cosby Show and those six famous friends than you do over full-length films, then try On Location's New York TV and Movie Sites tour. Their website tells you to come ready to sing t.v. theme songs as they show you the apartment building famous as Monica and Chandler's, the diner way-too-often frequented by Seinfeld and his friends, and yes, you can sit on the steps of Cosby's townhouse. Wear an extra-large brightly-colored sweater if you'd like and sort out the meaning of parenthood and curfews. Television nostalgia is what this tour is all about.
4. Don't let the pros do it all for you. Central Park and the entire NBC line-up for the 80s and 90s could be a bit overwhelming on your own and better managed with a tour guide, but you could self-design your own movie tour and enjoy the sites of New York City your way. Personally, I think someone should design a Nora Ephron movie tour. Ephron is synonymous with New York City films and romantic comedies. Try two of the You've Got Mail locations for a quieter view of New York City. The 91st Street Garden is a privately maintained section of Riverside Garden along the Hudson and the scene for the beautiful finale between Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan in the movie. After the garden - and I do recommend this site in the late spring or summer months, go to 201 W. 83rd and have coffee and a croissant at Cafe Lalo where the characters had intended to meet as internet soul mates. "The only thing pleasant about her was the way her hair fell across her forehead," Joe Fox said, but you'll find all kinds of pleasant things at Cafe Lalo with the classical and jazz music and specialty drinks and snacks.
5. How about some romance? Just try to watch Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's without getting a dreamy perspective on the famous jewelry store's window displays and little blue boxes. "Nothing bad could happen to you there," she believes. To actually eat breakfast there, you'll have to do it as she did: Order from somewhere else and eat it on the street outside. My favorite view of this store, however, comes from a movie with a different state in the name when in Sweet Home Alabama Patrick Dempsey's character ushers Reese Witherspoon through the back door, points to the many display cases and urges, "Pick one." Now that's a romantic trip to Tiffany's. After window shopping - if that's all you can manage - at Tiffany's, meet your romantic-other on the top of the Empire State Building, a romantic gesture made famous by An Affair To Remember and repeated several times in other films, including Nora Ephron's Sleepless in Seattle. I really think this pair of locations should end up in somebody's home video collection labeled, "The night we got engaged."
6. If you're not ready for the engagement, though, I have the perfect date idea based on another New York City romantic comedy, Serendipity with John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale. First you do a little shopping at Bloomingdale's located at 1000 3rd Avenue. This is where our couple first meets in the film while shopping for . . . gloves apparently. The store is located between 59th and 60th on which street you will find your next location, Serendipity 3, the ice cream shop-slash-novelty store where the couple visits next. The line at Serendipity's can be a bit daunting, so maybe this date should be an early morning shopping venture with a late brunch to beat the crowds.
7. If you're not looking for romance at all, I have the perfect duo for just plain New York city fun. There is a hot dog you absolutely must try if you visit New York City to celebrate films. The characters in You've Got Mail eat them, but the Gray's Papaya hot dog was immortalized I believe in the Matthew Perry/Salma Hayek film, Fools Rush In. Part restaurant, part street vendor, and dripping with New York City charm, the Gray's Papaya hot dog will set the perfect tone for fun and movie adventure in New York City. After that, it's quite a jog to the next location (which could be beneficial after that hot dog) but how about the giant toy store, F.A.O. Schwartz? You know you want to dance on that giant floor piano made famous by Tom Hanks in the movie, Big. Two stories of toys and the knowledge that you've played Chopsticks with your toes just like Tom. That's what these movie tours are all about.
Guaranteed - Hollywood will never stop filming in this amazingly versatile city. Consider writers and directors your personal tour guides for New York - without the corny jokes and accompanied by your favorite stars and stories.